CG Dedicates Seamanship Building In Memory of Chief Bernard Webber

CAPE MAY – Members of Coast Guard Training Center Cape May and guests officially dedicated the seamanship building at the training center, here, as the Bernard C. Webber Seamanship Training Facility in a ceremony held Feb. 17.  
The center’s Commanding Officer Capt. Owen Gibbons, along with the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard, Steven Cantrell, and Patricia Webber-Hamilton, the daughter of Chief Petty Officer Bernard Webber, dedicated the building to Webber for his act of heroism during the rescue of 32 crewmembers from the tanker vessel Pendleton, Feb. 18, 1952.
“Operating in the environment he did that night is a testament to his skill and courage,” stated Chief Warrant Officer Dan Murray, head of the Seamanship School at the center, in a release.
“Here we teach skills as well as operational risk management to our recruits. Chief Webber’s story is an important part of why we, the Coast Guard, teach those skills that could potentially save a life.”
The Seamanship School is responsible for teaching Coast Guard recruits basic helmsmanship, knot tying, and shipboard firefighting skills as part of their basic-training curriculum.
“This means the absolute world to me,” stated Hamilton. “Having generations of Coast Guard recruits learn life-saving skills in a building named after my father is the most incredible way to honor him.”
For more information on the Pendleton rescue, click here.